St Helens’ players have let Paul Rowley down after he was sacked earlier this week, according to England international Jack Welsby.

Welsby was the Saints’ standout during their 38-16 loss at Wigan Warriors on Friday night, producing a spirited individual display amidst another disappointing night for the team on the whole.

And the England international was the first senior player to speak out about Rowley’s dismissal after the game, admitting to Sky Sports the onus of responsibility must fall on the players as well as the head coach.

‘We’ve let him down’

Welsby made a frank admission that the players did what they could in the wake of Rowley’s dramatic dismissal on Thursday morning.

“We handled it as best as we could,” he said. “We found out yesterday, went out and trained and did a captain’s run and the boys nailed it. The senior boys led it and the young lads followed. It was as good as it could have been. A lot of lads are embarrassed because we’ve let him down, really. But we’ve got a lot to improve on if we want to make the play-offs.”

Welsby was then asked what he meant by the fact the players had let Rowley down.

He responded: “Our performances: at the end of the day, he doesn’t go out on the pitch. If we’d won as many games as Wigan, he would’t be getting sacked. We have to look inwards as much as outwards.”

Welsby proud of St Helens effort

Welsby admitted he was disappointed by the heavy scoreline which ultimately fell against the Saints despite a spirited showing in the first half.

“I’m a bit disappointed,” he said.

“We were right in the game at half-time but didn’t start well in the second half. With what’s going on, we can be proud of our efforts but this is the game we came to win and we’ve lost by a big margin – so the overriding feeling is being pretty disappointed.”

However, he did reserve praise for the Saints’ supporters – a week on from his own controversial try celebration in front of them during the victory over Catalans Dragons.

“It’s immense,” Welsby said of the supporters. “It’s not been a great week for them either so to see them in their numbers, it’s exceptional. We’ve got some special young kids coming through here and to see them get the appreciation they deserve, it was a nice touch.”